


Empty Nest Syndrome

by 10redplums



Series: planes campaign fic [3]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Letters, Male-Female Friendship, Oh no she's cute, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Semi-Epistolary, canon-typical dnd party - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28476990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/10redplums/pseuds/10redplums
Summary: so! if you're wondering, the bolded scrambled word is "regulators". whatever is scrambling the word also influenced Maribelle Orson into moving on as if it was fine, hence "the moment passes." thanks for reading!
Series: planes campaign fic [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044054
Kudos: 1
Collections: Banned Together Bingo 2020





	Empty Nest Syndrome

Maribelle Orson had not been unduly concerned when Morgaine’s work had taken her halfway across the continent. She and her wife Eliza had sent her miles away before, to the best magic university she’d wanted, and she’d been good about keeping them updated. She’d promised to keep that up, though they’d agreed to do it over mail less frequently. Stones of farspeech were convenient, but Maribelle liked having something to tuck away.

A private investigation firm, of sorts, Morgaine called it, when she’d explained herself to them. She’d seen one of their agents in the field and she’d been interested, and they’d thought her capable and offered. As expected of a wizard of her caliber, she’d said. How she’d puffed her chest out at that, how Eliza had stifled laughter, how their youngest child Hevel had laughed and strutted around the room making fun of her when all the crying was done. Well, Morgaine had seemed happy enough.

_ Dear Mother and Nother, _

_ I have settled into the dorm. I have three roommates, all in the same division as me. Two have seniority; one is new like me. We’ve set up rules I won’t bore you with. Ella has advised me to find hobbies outside of reading and has offered to help me find some.  _ ~~_ It was a little too close  _ ~~ _ The offer was a little too familiar because she made it like day 2 of knowing us but it’s nice. She’s a thief; she’s good at sneaking into places. Don’t worry. Please don’t worry.  _

Maribelle raises an eyebrow.

_ We don’t steal things!! We don’t steal things. My job is just to track down people. It’s fine!!  _

_ We were given the week to settle in, and then set up with teams. Ella and Manny already have their own teams. Vince is with me and Armand; Armand is a cleric of Sehanine and Mother I didn’t realize how nice it is to not be exceptional? Armand is so powerful Mother it’s amazing there are many of us here of varying strengths but  _ _ Armand _ _ Armand knows so many spells and can cast so many of them and it took so many hits in training to take him down. Have I mentioned training’s started? The week to settle in, and then training in earnest.  _

_ Armand took us down to Tunka, once, to get us used to walking around and looking around. He’s very nice. Very capable. Tunka was lovely; I got souvenirs for you and Nother and Big Bro Marcus and the kids, I hope they get there safe. I packed them up as best I could. _

Her souvenirs had indeed gotten there safely. Hevel had crowed over theirs and immediately gone rushing off to tell Fay and Plums, Cassandra in tow. 

_ How are they? How are you? My roommates and teammates say hello. Give my dear  _ (Maribelle laughs)  _ siblings my love. _

_ Your daughter, _

_ Morgaine _

So the next few months go. Morgaine is proficient enough that her job is no problem, and she talks enough about her coworkers that Maribelle doesn’t worry about her not making friends.

Marcus starts taking on more responsibilities helping run the town. Hevel goes off on their own adventure, their friends in tow. Eliza prays to the gods to keep them safe.

_ Dear Mother and Nother, _

_ How are you? Work is the same. The director says I’m up for a promotion soon, which just means that I’ll have access to more dangerous jobs, but at least my pay will be better. But I’ll be fine! I’m always careful. You don’t have to worry. _

_ Armand invited me to watch the fresh recruits today; there’s a new crop of them and he and the other seniors always want to keep an eye out. Lately they’ve been asking me what I think more and more instead of just pointing things out.  _

_ There’s a new girl who’s taking up some of Armand’s time; she’s good enough, I suppose. Good potential. She looks sort of familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it? She’s a cleric, too, so that’s something. _

_ I never mentioned the reading material I have access to and that’s terrible; the libraries here are extensive and I have rented so many books on magical theory. So many fun ways to turn things into other things, and my stipend is more than enough to let me experiment. I’ve included some notes on the scholar Altair’s later works here, I know Nother likes those and maybe the next time Hevel comes back they can look through them.  _

The notes had been far thicker than the letter.

_ Vinny _ (When had he stopped being Vince and become Vinny?) _ is doing okay. He says hi and thinks you and Marcus are hilarious. He’s started a tally of how many times I mention Cass or Vel and their little friends and every five times I buy him a drink or a trinket. The trinkets are probably better for him, I don’t really like encouraging people to drink but he doesn’t do it much. Usually it’s just the one glass of alcohol and then we switch to juice.  _

_ Some of the older  _ **_gsrotauerl_ ** _ do drink a lot though, which is worrying but understandable I guess? _

Maribelle looks at the words on the page and wonders, a little. The rest of her letter is fine. There’s just a patch, there, that her eyes slide over. But **_the moment passes_ ** , and she keeps reading. 

_ One of the new recruits does also like to drink, and he- _ there’s a little stain, like Morgaine had paused long enough for her ink to blot on the paper-  _ likes flirting with people a lot. Flirted with Vinny. Flirted with me a little, though he backed off soon enough when I wasn’t interested, which is decent of him I guess? Don’t look at me like that  _ (Maribelle laughs a little as she imagines Morgaine’s frankly adorable moue of distaste) _ he’s objectively handsome I guess if you like that kind of thing. His little friend is more interesting, honestly. So pointy. Kind of reminds me of Fay. Does Vinny have to count this if it’s to you? _

_ Anyway. Things are the same. I work, I come back. I study. I’m doing really well here. I hope you guys are doing okay. I know we still talk over stones but it needs to be written. Love you, _

_ Your daughter, _

_ Morgaine _

The next month’s letter, when it comes, cuts off neatly halfway through the second page. The next sheet starts off composed, as if their dear daughter had lost control of her writing entirely, torn off the later half, done her best to regain her composure, and gone back to writing.

_ Dear Mother and Nother, _

_ How are you? How are the kids? I am doing fine. Have they visited recently? They should. I’ll bet Fay’s and Plums’ parents are worried sick.  _

_I really hope you and Nother are doing alright. Things are happening in all the places we’ve been to and while I know we_ _only_ _get sent to dangerous places it’s getting a lot more frequent. Please take care, and keep an eye on the town. I’ll try to get in contact with Hevel._

_ Work is the same. My studies are progressing at a satisfactory pace, though I’ve been getting a little sidetracked as I try to learn more about the things we attend to. The scholar Yusuf has much to say on the matter though I’m still tracking down  _ _ his _ _ sources; he’s fairly modern, as you know. _

Morgaine’s notes on the scholar Yusuf’s literature had been included, of course. 

_ I dearly want you and Nother to meet Vinny and Armand someday, Mother. They’re very dear to me and I think you would love them as I do. Well, you would love Armand; he doesn’t talk about his family much but he’s mentioned private tutors and we go to him for matters of etiquette because work takes us far and wide and sometimes we do need to impress people. Vinny more than I; I know you will not let it be said that any child of yours is a boor. (Love you, maman.) ( _ Maribelle laughs.)  _ Vinny I feel you would call a diamond in the rough but I promise he has a good heart and I love him dearly as I’ve said though he can be rather vulgar. He would try for us which I know you appreciate and he will make mistakes which will entertain me and which I adore him for. _

_ Armand has enlisted mine and Vinny’s help in training more new recruits in our division and it’s… odd, to think about how powerful I’ve become. This isn’t an idle boast; some of them came from the same school I did and it’s hard to believe with how I am now that I was ever that green. Was that what it was like watching us grow up? _

_ The recruits I mentioned before, Vy the cleric who’s gotten Armand’s attention, Tryn the pointy one, and Ian Shieldheart the objectively handsome one, they’re a team together as well, though their job is retrieval, not investigation. Tryn, in particular, Armand has discussed a few times with the other  _ **_roulestgra_ ** _ he hangs out with.  _ (Maribelle imagines Morgaine puffing her chest out at the implication, that she too has been allowed to listen in on and participate in these conversations.)  _ Vy is also interested in magical theory and talks to me once in a while about it. She’s very nice. Very smart, too _

Maribelle laughs, because that’s where the paper cuts off. The next words, written with enough urgency to poke through the paper in spots, are the words  _ BY THE GODS,  _ and  _ GIRLS!!! _ The last exclamation mark, in particular, has gone all the way through. 

_ Mother I can neither eat nor drink nor sleep my dreams are plagued by glimmering gold my waking hours are spent thinking of her _

_ Okay that’s not true, I’m doing fine, except for that one time she smiled at me and said Hi and I nearly walked into a door and Vinny laughed at me for about five solid minutes. _

_ Mother she’s just very cute and very friendly. She’s dedicated enough to the job; I think she has her own agenda she’s pursuing but that’s her business. She’s very sweet also? As far as I can tell. She asks a lot of questions vis a vis magical theory and she’s a treat to have discussions with and _

_ I want to hold her hand? I want to spend more time with her and talk about things and I want to tell her about Vel and Cass and the others  _ (Maribelle is honestly surprised Morgaine hasn’t yet)  _ and I want you to meet her and  _ ~~_ I want to take her on dates _ ~~ _ I want to help her with her agenda? Whatever help I can give? I’m very capable and good at magic! I can help! _

_ I also want to give her gifts and stuff and when I and Vinny and Armand go down for work I think about places or things she might like??  _

_ Mother I don’t know how to handle thiiiis I have gotten up and paced the room and flapped my arms  _ (Oh dear)  _ about three times since I started writing this letter and Vinny is laughing at me (though not for the flapping, he says he’s just never seen me get so worked up over a person before) Anyway Mother I love you and Nother, I’m sorry about the loss of composure I’ve just rewritten this about three times now and I don’t want to do it a fourth time. Please advise. _

_ Your daughter, Morgaine. _

Maribelle laughs and laughs, and shows Eliza the letter, and sits down to write her own response. She looks forward to seeing what Morgaine does with it.

**Author's Note:**

> so! if you're wondering, the bolded scrambled word is "regulators". whatever is scrambling the word also influenced Maribelle Orson into moving on as if it was fine, hence "the moment passes." thanks for reading!


End file.
